THE LONG GAME by J.L. Fynn: A Five Reasons Review
Hi readerfriends,
If you can’t get enough of NA romance but you’re craving something a little bit different to curl up with, go check out THE LONG GAME by J.L. Fynn (actually a collaboration between two talented authors, Katherine Ernst and Chelle Bruhn, who’ve been writing together since high school). Just released today, it’s an assured, well-paced debut novel with an unusual hero, a believable romance, and enough suspense and danger to shorten all your fingernails significantly by the time you hit the last page.
Here’s the blurb, if you haven’t heard about the book yet:
Smooth talking. Ambitious. Loyal. Twenty-year-old Shay Reilly has proven himself to his Irish-American Gypsy clan on small-scale cons, but now the clan leader has a bigger mission for him: playing the long game.
To rake in the big score he’s after, he needs to con co-ed Spencer into falling in love with him. He knows he should see Spencer as a mere means to an end, but that’s easier said than done when there’s a witty, attractive girl in your arms.
Now the only thing that can keep them apart is the thing that brought them together: Shay’s plans of revenge against someone who wronged his clan and family years before—Spencer’s father.
And here are my top 5 reasons why you might enjoy THE LONG GAME:
1. Takes you someplace new. So the first thing you might want to know is, Have I seen this story before? When you read the blurb, you may wonder if you’re in for a typical “guy-cons-girl-and-then-really-falls-in-love-with-her” story. And it’s true that THE LONG GAME follows the major signposts of that trope. But tropes become tropes because they’re effective, and specificity of character and setting can go a long way toward making a familiar story fresh. Fynn really delivers here. Making the protagonist an Irish Traveler and immersing us in the details and values of his culture was a very, very smart idea; it hooked me from page one, and I kept thinking Here’s a character I’ve never met before. (You get to attend a Traveler wedding in the first few chapters, which is pretty brilliant on Fynn’s part. It’s a deft way to catch and hold the reader’s attention while setting up the main plot.)
2. Charismatic (but realistic) male narrator. I read a lot of YA/NA with female protagonists, so it’s always refreshing to read a male POV. Shay’s voice feels authentic and nuanced; his tough, direct way of expressing himself is nicely balanced by his playful sense of humor and his surprisingly wide romantic streak. He’s not a saint or a fantasy boyfriend, but he’s not exactly an antihero, either. He’s just a flawed, likable kid caught up in extraordinary circumstances–and he’s so real you might find yourself staying up until 1 a.m. because you HAVE TO KNOW how (or if) he gets himself out of it. (Also, he has wolfhounds named Yeats and Beckett and HOW AWESOME IS THAT.)
3. Spencer. So, the love interest. She’s not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She’s not loaded with quirks and she doesn’t have blue hair or ride a unicycle, and she’s not out to save Shay from himself or teach him how to be a better man. She’s just an ordinary college girl in love, and that’s what makes her so great. You could picture yourself being roommates with Spencer and eating Ben & Jerry’s with her at two in the morning while you talk about music and boys and the meaning of life. The middle part of this story really hinges on the Spencer character working, and she does. When the danger amps up in the last third of the book (really well done, by the way; I was white-knuckling my Kindle more than once), you’ll care and worry equally for Spencer and Shay.
4. Well-crafted romance. The Spencer-Shay love story works on two levels: it’s a genuinely sweet college romance between two smart, witty kids, and it’s a ticking time bomb. I love the tone Fynn pulls off here, because it’s not about moony-eyed melodrama. Shay doesn’t descend into Romeo-and-Juliet theatrics after meeting Spencer; he’s able to nimbly balance his deception with his attraction to her for quite a while, which keeps things tense and interesting. The depth of his feelings for Spencer creep up on him gradually as we watch them have fun together like regular kids, which makes it even more heartbreaking when we sense his betrayal barreling closer like a train in a tunnel. (I mean, he cooks boxty for her. I’d pretty much marry him on the spot.)
5. Family ties. The romance may take center stage after the first few chapters, but Fynn doesn’t skimp on secondary-character development. Shay’s got an awesome and formidable single mother, Maggie, and a brother, Jimmy Boy, who’s been running small cons since the age of 12 and craves a simpler life. I felt like I knew them both within five minutes. Some of my favorite moments in the book centered around Shay’s complex relationships with his mother and brother; the rich, detailed portrait of his family life adds another layer of depth to the story (and tension, whenever we sense they’re in danger).
So I’m HOPING this story continues soon, ’cause that’s my only quibble; it wraps up so quickly after the action comes to a head that I barely had time to catch my breath. Loose ends were definitely a-dangle, so I’m hoping that means we won’t have to wait too long for a Part 2. Until then, grab THE LONG GAME: it’s a fast-paced and romantic debut with vibrant, engaging writing, and I’m absolutely looking forward to whatever J.L. Fynn serves up next.
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